Former Gatorade Player of the Year Anticipates Tar Heels Journey

Former Gonzaga High School guard Derek Dixon hails from Washington, D.C. He was named the D.C. Gatorade Player of the Year after this past high school basketball season wherein he averaged 14.1 points and added 2.6 assists.

He is now a freshman on the North Carolina basketball team.

“I’m a versatile guard who can score at all three levels,” Dixon told On3. “I can play with or without the ball in my hands. I’m trying to improve as an on-ball guard, making the right reads, and being a leader on the floor.”

Dixon, as one can imagine, had many other offers to pare down. The former four-star guard took official visits to Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arizona and Virginia. Of course, he also visited Chapel Hill and then it was a wrap.

“I think the fit was there,” Dixon said. “The opportunity for me to play was there. The relationship I built with Coach (Hubert) Davis and his staff was all good. The type of people that they are are the type of people I want to be around and the type of people I want to play for. So all around, I saw North Carolina as a great opportunity.”

Davis and Dixon have one thing in common. Both want to win at all costs. Dixon is used to winning and he wants to see the tradition continue at North Carolina.

“My goal is always to win. Every time I step on the floor, I want to win,” Dixon said. “That is always the goal. We’ve got to keep it going and keep the tradition alive, They’ve built a great program, and we’ve got to keep building on that.”

He is expected to have a big role as a freshman in Davis' lineup. Dixon said he has no expectations, but its hard to keep smart, hungry players off the court.

“You can’t really go in with expectations,” Dixon said. “You have to earn whatever you get. He has told me he is not going to promise me anything, but he also has said that he thinks I will have an opportunity to make an impact if I come in and compete.”

Dixon said Davis really spent a lot of time and effort recruiting him as a prep star. He believes he built a great working relationship with Davis which will help on and off the court.

“He’s just an honest, good guy,” Dixon said. “He is a family man, really family-centered. He tries to build a close relationship with each of his players, which I think is really cool. We’ve had a great relationship. He came out to see me a lot when I was in high school, and we would talk on the phone a lot or text back and forth. He really put a lot into building a relationship with me, and that was cool.”

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